This invention relates to an inkjet recording element. More particularly, this invention relates to a porous ink jet recording element containing porous polymeric particles.
In a typical ink jet recording or printing system, ink droplets are ejected from a nozzle at high speed towards a recording element or medium to produce an image on the medium. The ink droplets, or recording liquid, generally comprise a recording agent, such as a dye or pigment, and a large amount of solvent. The solvent, or carrier liquid, typically is made up of water, an organic material such as a monohydric alcohol, a polyhydric alcohol or mixtures thereof.
An ink jet recording element typically comprises a support having on at least one surface thereof an ink-receiving or image-forming layer, and includes those intended for reflection viewing, which have an opaque support, and those intended for viewing by transmitted light, which have a transparent support.
While a wide variety of different types of image-recording elements for use with ink jet devices have been proposed heretofore, there are many unsolved problems in the art and many deficiencies in the known products which have limited their commercial usefulness.
It is well known that in order to achieve and maintain photographic-quality images on such an image-recording element, an inkjet recording element must:
Be readily wetted so there is no puddling, i.e., coalescence of adjacent ink dots, which leads to non-uniform density
Exhibit no image bleeding
Absorb high concentrations of ink and dry quickly to avoid elements blocking together when stacked against subsequent prints or other surfaces
Exhibit no discontinuities or defects due to interactions between the support and/or layer(s), such as cracking, repellencies, comb lines and the like
Not allow unabsorbed dyes to aggregate at the free surface causing dye crystallization, which results in bloom or bronzing effects in the imaged areas
Have an optimized image fastness to avoid fade from contact with water or radiation by daylight, tungsten light, or fluorescent light
An ink jet recording element that simultaneously provides an almost instantaneous ink dry time and good image quality is desirable. However, given the wide range of ink compositions and ink volumes that a recording element needs to accommodate, these requirements of ink jet recording media are difficult to achieve simultaneously.
Ink jet recording elements are known that employ porous or non-porous single layer or multilayer coatings that act as suitable image-receiving layers on one or both sides of a porous or non-porous support. Recording elements that use non-porous coatings typically have good image quality but exhibit poor ink dry time. Recording elements that use porous coatings exhibit superior dry times, but typically have poorer image quality and are prone to cracking.
A problem with known inkjet recording elements that employ a porous single layer or multilayer coatings that act as suitable image-receiving layer(s) is dye stability during storage. In particular, dyes printed onto an inkjet receiver element tend to fade due to exposure to ozone which is present in the atmosphere.
Another problem with inkjet recording elements that employ a porous single layer or multilayer coatings that act as suitable image-receiving layer(s) is image stability under high humidity storage conditions. In particular, dyes tend to migrate through the image receiving layer during storage since the dye image receiving layer is hydrophilic and tends to absorb water from the atmosphere.
Japanese Kokai 2000-203154 relates to an inkjet recording sheet containing cationic porous particles in an ink recording layer. However, there is a problem with this element in that it the inks printed thereon have poor stability in the presence of ozone.
It is an object of this invention to provide an ink jet recording element that has a fast ink dry time. It is another object of this invention to provide an inkjet recording element that has good stability when exposed to ozone and high humidity conditions.
These and other objects are achieved in accordance with the invention which comprises an inkjet recording element comprising a support having thereon an image-receiving layer comprising porous polymeric particles in a polymeric binder, the porous polymeric particles being prepared in the presence of an anionic or cationic dispersant, and the image-receiving layer containing a surfactant having a charge opposite to that of the dispersant used to make the porous polymeric particles, the surfactant being present in an amount from about 0.04 parts to about 0.30 parts by weight of the dispersant.
By use of the invention, an ink jet recording element is obtained which has a good dry time and good stability when exposed to ozone and high humidity conditions.
The support used in the inkjet recording element of the invention may be opaque, translucent, or transparent. There may be used, for example, plain papers, resin-coated papers, various plastics including a polyester resin such as poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene naphthalate) and poly(ester diacetate), a polycarbonate resin, a fluorine resin such as poly(tetra-fluoro ethylene), metal foil, various glass materials, and the like. In a preferred embodiment, the support is paper or a voided plastic material. The thickness of the support employed in the invention can be from about 12 to about 500 xcexcm, preferably from about 75 to about 300 xcexcm.
The porous polymeric particles which are used in the invention are in the form of porous beads, porous irregularly shaped particles, or are aggregates of emulsion particles.
Suitable porous polymeric particles used in the invention comprise, for example, acrylic resins, styrenic resins, or cellulose derivatives, such as cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate butyrate, cellulose propionate, cellulose acetate propionate, and ethyl cellulose; polyvinyl resins such as polyvinyl chloride, copolymers of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate and polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl acetal, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers, ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymers, and ethylene-allyl copolymers such as ethylene-allyl alcohol copolymers, ethylene-allyl acetone copolymers, ethylene-allyl benzene copolymers, ethylene-allyl ether copolymers, ethylene acrylic copolymers and polyoxy-methylene; polycondensation polymers, such as, polyesters, including polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyurethanes and polycarbonates.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the porous polymeric particles are made from a styrenic or an acrylic monomer. Any suitable ethylenically unsaturated monomer or mixture of monomers may be used in making such styrenic or acrylic polymer. There may be used, for example, styrenic compounds, such as styrene, vinyl toluene, p-chlorostyrene, vinylbenzylchloride or vinyl naphthalene; or acrylic compounds, such as methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, n-butyl acrylate, n-octyl acrylate, 2-chloroethyl acrylate, phenyl acrylate, methyl-a-chloroacrylate, methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, butyl methacrylate; and mixtures thereof. In another preferred embodiment, methyl methacrylate or ethylene glycol dimethacrylate is used.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the porous polymeric particles are crosslinked. They may have a degree of crosslinking of about 27 mole % or greater, preferably about 50 mole %, and most preferably about 100 mole %. The degree of crosslinking is determined by the mole % of multifunctional crosslinking monomer which is incorporated into the porous polymeric particles.
Typical crosslinking monomers which may be used in making the porous polymeric particles employed in the invention are aromatic divinyl compounds such as divinylbenzene, divinylnaphthalene or derivatives thereof; diethylene carboxylate esters and amides such as ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, diethylene glycol diacrylate, and other divinyl compounds such as divinyl sulfide or divinyl sulfone compounds. Divinylbenzene and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate are especially preferred.
The porous polymeric particles used in this invention can be prepared, for example, by pulverizing and classification of porous organic compounds, by emulsion, suspension, and dispersion polymerization of organic monomers, by spray drying of a solution containing organic compounds, or by a polymer suspension technique which consists of dissolving an organic material in a water immiscible solvent, dispersing the solution as fine liquid droplets in aqueous solution, and removing the solvent by evaporation or other suitable techniques. The bulk, emulsion, dispersion, and suspension polymerization procedures are well known to those skilled in the polymer art and are taught in such textbooks as G. Odian in xe2x80x9cPrinciples of Polymerizationxe2x80x9d, 2nd Ed. Wiley (1981), and W. P. Sorenson and T. W. Campbell in xe2x80x9cPreparation Method of Polymer Chemistryxe2x80x9d, 2nd Ed, Wiley (1968).
Techniques to synthesize porous polymer particles are taught, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,840,293; 5,993,805; 5,403,870; and 5,599,889, and Japanese Kokai Hei 5[1993]-222108, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. For example, an inert fluid or porogen may be mixed with the monomers used in making the porous polymer particles. After polymerization is complete, the resulting polymeric particles are, at this point, substantially porous because the polymer has formed around the porogen thereby forming the pore network. This technique is described more fully in U.S. Pat. No. 5,840,293 referred to above. Thus, the porosity of the porous polymeric particles is achieved by mixing a porogen with the monomers used to make the polymeric particles, dispersing the resultant mixture in water, and polymerizing the monomers to form the porous polymeric particles.
A preferred method of preparing the porous polymeric particles used in this invention includes forming a suspension or dispersion of ethylenically unsaturated monomer droplets containing the crosslinking monomer and a porogen in an aqueous medium, polymerizing the monomer to form solid, porous polymeric particles, and optionally removing the porogen by vacuum stripping. The particles thus prepared have a porosity as measured by a specific surface area of about 35 m2/g or greater, preferably 100 m2/g or greater. The surface area is usually measured by B.E.T. nitrogen analysis known to those skilled in the art.
The porous polymeric particles may be covered with a layer of colloidal inorganic particles as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,288,598; 5,378,577; 5,563,226 and 5,750,378, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. The porous polymeric particles may also be covered with a layer of colloidal polymer latex particles as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,934, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The porous polymeric particles used in this invention have a median diameter less than about 10 xcexcm, preferably less than about 1 xcexcm, and most preferably less than about 0.6 xcexcm. Median diameter is defined as the statistical average of the measured particle size distribution on a volume basis. For further details concerning median diameter measurement, see T. Allen, xe2x80x9cParticle Size Measurementxe2x80x9d, 4th Ed., Chapman and Hall, (1990).
As noted above, the polymeric particles used in the invention are porous. By porous is meant particles which either have voids or are permeable to liquids. These particles can have either a smooth or a rough surface.
As noted above, the porous polymeric particles are prepared in the presence of a dispersant. Suitable dispersants include anionic dispersants such as aliphatic carboxylic acid salts, including lithium, sodium, potassium, and ammonium salts, abietic acid salts, hydroxyalkane-sulfonic acid salts, alkanesulfonic acid salts (Triton X-200(copyright)), alpha-olefin sulfonates (Rhodacal A246(copyright)), dialkylsulfosuccinic acid salts such as the sodium salt of dioctyl 2-sulfosuccinic acid (Aerosol OT(copyright)), straight-chained alkylbenzenesulfonic acid salts and branched alkylbenzenesulfonic acid salts such as dodecylbenzene-sulfonic acid sodium salt (SDBS), alkylnaphthalene sulfonic acid salts (Alkanol XC(copyright)), disodium salts of the alkyl half-esters of sulfosuccinic acids, disodium salts of the ethoxylated alkyl half-ester of sulfosuccinic acids, and other salts of alkyl and arylalkyl derivatives of sulfosuccinic acids, alkylphenoxy-poly-oxyethylene propylsulfonic acid salts, polyoxyethylenealkylsulfophenyl ether salts, salts of N-methyl-N-oleyltaurine, such as sodium N-methyl-N-oleyltaurine (OMT), N-alkylsulfosuccinic acid monoamide disodium salts, petroleum sulfonates, salts of alkyl sulfates such as sodium dodecylsulfate, sulfated castor oil, sulfated tallow, sulfate ester salts of aliphatic acid alkyl esters, alkyl sulfate ester salts, polyoxyethylene alkylether sulfate ester salts, aliphatic acid monoglyceride sulfate ester salts, polyoxyethylene alkylphenylether sulfate ester salts, polyoxyethylene styrylphenylether sulfate ester salts, sodium and potasium salts of mono- and di-alkyl phosphate esters, polyoxyethylene alkylether phosphate ester salts, polyoxyethylene alkylphenylether phosphate ester salts, partially saponified styrene-maleic anhydride copolymers, partially saponified olefin-maleic anhydride copolymers, and naphthalenesulfonic acid salts condensed with formaldehyde. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the anionic dispersant is sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, sodium dodecylsulfate, the sodium salt of N-oleyl-N-methyltaurine, or the dioctyl ester of sodium sulfosuccinic acid. The counter ions of all these anionic salts can be lithium, sodium, potassium, ammonium, or other positively charged ions.
Cationic dispersants may also be used in this invention and include, for example, alkylamine salts, the counter ions of which can be halides, sulfonates, phosphates, sulfates, etc., alkyl and benzyl quaternary ammonium salts, such as N-Alkyl(C12-C16)-N,N-dimethyl-N-benzyl ammonium chloride [where Alkyl (C12-C16) means a mixture of alkyl groups having from 12 to 16 carbon atoms] and cetyltrimethylammonium chloride, polyoxyethylene-alkylamine salts, polyethylenealkylquatemary ammonium salts, polyethylenepolyamine derivatives, alkyl pyridinium salts, such as hexadecylpyridinium chloride; alkyl imidazolium salts, and other alkyl substituted aromatic cyclic amine salts, alkyl and aromatic phosphonium salts. The counter ions of all these cationic salts can be halides, sulfonates, phosphates, sulfates, nitrates, acetates, etc.
As noted above, the image-receiving layer contains a surfactant. Any known anionic or cationic surfactant can be employed, such as those same materials listed above as the anionic or cationic dispersant, provided it has a charge opposite to that of the dispersant used to make the porous polymeric particles and is employed in the amount as stated above.
The polymeric binder used in the invention may comprise a poly(vinyl alcohol), a gelatin, a cellulose ether, polyvinylpyrrolidone, poly(ethylene oxide), etc. The image-receiving layer may also contain additives such as pH-modifiers like nitric acid, cross-linkers, rheology modifiers, surfactants, UV-absorbers, biocides, lubricants, water-dispersible latexes, mordants, dyes, optical brighteners etc.
The image-receiving layer may be applied to one or both substrate surfaces through conventional pre-metered or post-metered coating methods such as blade, air knife, rod, roll, slot die, curtain, slide, etc. The choice of coating process would be determined from the economics of the operation and in turn, would determine the formulation specifications such as coating solids, coating viscosity, and coating speed.
The image-receiving layer thickness may range from about 5 to about 100 xcexcm, preferably from about 10 to about 50 xcexcm. The coating thickness required is determined through the need for the coating to act as a sump for absorption of ink solvent. The image-receiving layer of this invention contains from about 0.20 to about 10.0 g/m2 of polymeric binder, preferably from about 0.40 to about 5.0 g/m2, and about 1.5 to about 60 g/m2 of porous polymeric particles, preferably from about 3.0 to about 30 g/m2.
Ink jet inks used to image the recording elements of the present invention are well-known in the art. The ink compositions used in ink jet printing typically are liquid compositions comprising a solvent or carrier liquid, dyes or pigments, humectants, organic solvents, detergents, thickeners, preservatives, and the like. The solvent or carrier liquid can be solely water or can be water mixed with other water-miscible solvents such as polyhydric alcohols. Inks in which organic materials such as polyhydric alcohols are the predominant carrier or solvent liquid may also be used. Particularly useful are mixed solvents of water and polyhydric alcohols. The dyes used in such compositions are typically water-soluble direct or acid type dyes. Such liquid compositions have been described extensively in the prior art including, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,381,946; 4,239,543 and 4,781,758, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Although the recording elements disclosed herein have been referred to primarily as being useful for ink jet printers, they also can be used as recording media for pen plotter assemblies. Pen plotters operate by writing directly on the surface of a recording medium using a pen consisting of a bundle of capillary tubes in contact with an ink reservoir.
The following example further illustrates the invention.